Warper beam



A. L. EWING Dec. 30, 1958 WARPER BEAM Filed Oct. 29, 195 3 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 FIG.2

FIG. 1

INVENTOR' ALVIN L. EWING ATTORNEY Dec. 30, 1958 A. L. EWING 2,356,607

' WARPER BEAM Filed Oct. 29, 1953 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 FIG. 3

FIG. 4

INVENTOR ALVIN L. EWING ATTORNEY United Sta es Patent WARPER' BEAM: Alvin L. Ewing, Chesterfield vm, a'ssignor to a. I.

du Pont de Nemours and Company, Wilmington, 19431., a corporation of Delaware Application October 29, 1953, Serial No. 389,100

2 Claims. (Cl. 242--118.6)

This invention relates to a section or warper beam and is more particularly concerned with improved supports for the beam heads.

Warper beams suitable for holding several hundred pounds of yarn have been used for a great many years for such purposes as supplying a number of yarn ends to looms or to machines for making tire fabric. These beams are usually made of wooden staves arranged to form a barrel, with wooden heads mounted on an axle completing the spool-shaped beam. Wood is used to provide the desired combination of resilience and strength.

The tendency has been to make these beams increasingly large and to run them at higher rates of speed. Furthermore, increasing amounts of rayon and the newer synthetic yarns are being beamed, especially for tire cord uses, which have placed increasing strain on the beams because of the tendency to wind these yarns more tightly than the natural fiber yarns.

For a number of years difiiculties have been experienced with commercially available beams as a result of deformation of the heads in service. The pressure of the yarn against the outer portions of the heads has caused the heads to dish outward at the periphery and inward at the center. This has produced an excessive runout or wobbly condition which has seriously affected the selvages of the yarn. This dishing has also caused loosening of the axle nuts employed to fix the position of the beam on the supporting axle, which has further contributed to the wobbly condition and caused trouble in the mills with these nuts backing off the axle.

An object of this invention is to provide an improved support for warper beam heads which will prevent dishing of the heads in use. A further object is to avoid loosening of beam axle nuts in use. Other objects of the invention will become apparent from the following description, the drawings and the claims.

In the drawings, which illustrate preferred embodiments of the invention,

Figure 1 is a longitudinal section of a warper beam showing one embodiment of the invention,

Figure 2 is a corresponding detail sectional view on an enlarged scale to show the manner of supporting the beam head in accordance with this invention,

Figure 3 is a similar detail view showing another modification, and

Figure 4 is another similar detail view showing a further modification.

With the exception of the manner of supporting the head the construction of the warper beam shown in Figure 1 conforms to standard practice in the art. The supporting shaft passes through the center of several I identical internal barrel supports 12. These may be onepiece metal disks, as shown in Figure 1, or may be built up of two or more wooden disks 13, 14 and a flanged metal collar 15, as shown in Figure 2, which may be fixed in position on the axle by set screws 16. Staves 18 are arranged around the disks 12 to form the barrel of v 2 the beam, and may be secured to the disks by countersunk screws 20. The outside of the barrel is'cylind'rical'.

The two heads 22, 23 are identical and'are" usually of 3 or 4-ply laminated wood construction The headsiare securedto the endsof thestaves by a number of he rods .24 which extend from head to head through grooves cut in abutting edges of the staves before the staves are as sembled to forrnthe" barrel. The:nuts-Ziorheads26 'of tes- 28 or equivalent" the rods 24 rest on reinforcing pla tension plates or washers.

The above construction locks the whole together. However, with the conventional construction so far described, the heads are rigidly fixed only at or very close to the periphery of each end of the barrel. The heads have been found to pivot like a lever with a fulcrum at the end of each tie rod. The outward pressure of the yarn has caused the periphery of the heads to spring outward and the inner portion near the axle to dish inward. it has not been practical to stiffen the head sufficiently to withstand this movement. In accordance with this invention, however, means have been devised for rigidly supporting the head at the axle which satisfactorily overcomes the difficulty.

Referring to Figure 2, a centering flange 30 is provided which has an integral axle nut 32 threaded onto the axle 10. Accordingly the flange is positively positioned and the portion of the head resting against it is rigidly held from moving inward. The tire-like rim 34 of the flange forms a support for the ends of the staves 18 and prevents the ends of the beam from shifting eccentrically on the axle as a result of shock loads. This is important for maintaining dynamic balance at high speeds.

The head supporting means shown in Figure 3 does not provide as great rigidity but is adequate for many purposes. The axle nut 36 is provided with a shoulder 38 which rests against the inside of the head 22. This shoulder does not extend outward as far as the staves. When required a support substantially equivalent to the rimmed flange 30 of Figure 2 may be provided by surrounding the shoulder with wooden disks 40 which are secured to the head and support the staves 18 at the ends.

It is sometimes desirable to have the axle removable without disturbing the beam. For example, it may be more convenient to ship a loaded beam without protruding axle ends. With the modification shown in Figure 4 this is readily accomplished. The centering flange shown is similar to the one described in connection with Figure 2 except that it is not screwed onto the shaft 10.

The flange or shoulder 42 is made integral with externally protruding collar 44, through which the shaft fits snugly and is prevented from movement by set screws 46. The staves may be secured to the periphery of the centering flange by screws 48. In order to remove the axle it is only necessary to loosen the set screws, which are conveniently located in the protruding portion of the collar, and slide the axle out of the collar. While this modification is not as readily adjustable as the threaded modifications described, and does not have as great strength, it is satisfactory for many purposes.

Since many difierent embodiments of the invention may be made without departing from the spirit and scope thereof, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited by the specific illustrations except to the extent Patented Dec; 30, 1195s;

shoulder bearing against that portion of the 'head which faces the inside of the barrel to prevent inward movement of the central portion of the head and a means, external of the head, for adjusting the said shoulder against the innersideofthehead. I 1

2. A warper beam comprising a barrel of'substantially cylindrical shape, heads of larger diameter than the diameter of the barrel, means for securing said heads to 1 said barrel, an axle passing through the center of each 1 head and the barrel, and located at each end of said beam an axle nut threaded onto said axle and having an integral flange-bearing against ,that portion of the head which faces the, insjde -of ;-the; barrel to prevent inward).

movement of the head.

173,880 Baldwin Feb. 22, 1876 1,265,292 Besse May 7, 1918 1,490,864 Taft Apr. 15, 1924 2,148,394 Thornton Feb. 21, 1939 2,538,697 McCaskie Jan. 16, 1951 2,610,004 Miller Sept. 9, 1952 2,652,993 MacMillan Sept. 22, 1953 2,690,312 7 Watson .1.......' Sept. 28, 1954 

